Occupational Therapist Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Tennessee

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Organization:

MCJCHV Peds Rehab

Job Summary:

Provides occupational therapy services to patients who have impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes under occasional guidance. Actively collaborates with the health care/educational team to meet patient care, outcomes and system improvement objectives.

Job Title: Occupational Therapist – NICU

Location: Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN

Department: Pediatric Rehabilitation Services

Schedule: Full-Time | Tuesday–Saturday | 8-hour shifts

Advance Neonatal Occupational Therapy at a Top-Ranked Children’s Hospital

Are you an Occupational Therapist specializing in neonatal care who is passionate about delivering evidence-based, family-centered therapy in a Level IV NICU?

Join Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, home to one of the largest and most advanced Level IV NICUs in the nation, and help shape the future of neonatal therapy at a nationally recognized pediatric academic medical center.

Ranked No. 1 Children’s Hospital in Tennessee and top-ranked in the Southeast in the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals, Vanderbilt Children’s is a destination for complex neonatal care, innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Position Overview: Neonatal Occupational Therapist (NICU)

The NICU Occupational Therapist provides comprehensive, developmentally supportive care to medically complex neonates and their families. This role is embedded within a highly specialized interdisciplinary NICU team, supporting neurodevelopmental outcomes from birth through transition to home and early intervention.

This is an ideal opportunity for an Occupational Therapist with Level III or Level IV NICU experience seeking professional growth in a nationally respected neonatal program.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive neonatal occupational therapy evaluations in a Level IV NICU
• Develop and implement individualized, evidence-based intervention plans
• Collaborate with neonatologists, nurses, and rehabilitation specialists to deliver coordinated care
• Support feeding readiness, sensory regulation, positioning, neurodevelopment, and parent education
• Provide family-centered care, coaching caregivers at the bedside
• Document patient progress accurately and communicate effectively across interdisciplinary teams
• Support safe discharge planning and transitions to early intervention and community services

Required Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from an accredited program
• Active Tennessee Occupational Therapy license or eligibility
• Minimum of 3 years of pediatric occupational therapy experience, preferably in a Level III or Level IV NICU

Preferred Qualifications

• Membership in the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT)
• Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT) or actively pursuing certification
• Advanced training in neonatal therapy, sensory integration, or feeding and developmental care
• Experience in an academic medical center or children’s hospital setting

Why Choose Vanderbilt Health?

• Practice in a nationally ranked Level IV NICU with the region’s most complex neonatal cases
• Be part of a mission-driven pediatric rehabilitation team committed to excellence and innovation
• Work within a leading academic medical center with research and teaching opportunities
• Access Day One benefits, including medical, dental, vision, retirement, and paid time off
• Participate in robust continuing education, mentorship, and professional development programs
• Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals and Best Employers in Tennessee

Apply Today

Help us deliver hope, healing, and lifelong impact to our most vulnerable patients and their families.

Apply now to become a Neonatal Occupational Therapist at Vanderbilt Health.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Analyzes comprehensive information from formal and informal assessments that is pertinent to the patient's care and management to determine a rehabilitation treatment diagnosis.
• Collaborates with stakeholders in establishing the plan of care, coordinates and implements care delivery while anticipating patient care needs across the rehabilitation continuum.
• Applies appropriate, evidence-based interventions to ensure effective outcomes and re-evaluates performance to assess the patient's progress towards goals.
• Employs strategies to promote successful return to home, community, and school/vocational environments.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position, and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Rehab Therapist Patient Documentation (Intermediate): Demonstrates proficiency in documentation practices. Documents in the appropriate templates and utilizes only approved abbreviations within patient documentation. Meets institutional standards for quality and timeliness of documentation. May complete accurate chart audits of co-workers in the same classification category
• Treatment Planning & Goal Setting (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in developing a plan of care that incorporates treatment interventions focused on meeting objective goals. Develops and documents patient-focused short and long-term goals that are functional and measurable. Identifies the need for and referral to other services, as needed. May serve as a mentor for other clinical staff to develop their skills in treatment planning. May consult with team members or implement new procedures.
• Rehabilitation Therapist Patient Evaluation (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in evaluating patients with physical deficits, including impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function by obtaining information pertinent to the assessment and administering and scoring standardized tests and objective measures of deficit areas. Selects appropriate measures and performs a functional assessment to document the patient's status requiring skilled therapy. Interprets the results of the assessment and their significance to the patient, family, referring physician and other members of the health care team. Demonstrates experience in clinical evaluation skills and may serve as a mentor for other clinical staff to develop their skills in evaluation techniques. Contributes to the development of best practices for the organization. May consult with team members to implement new procedures.
• Treatment Implementation (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in providing treatment consistent with the physician's prescription and the established plan of care. Able to modify treatment plan as needed to demonstrate provision of skilled therapy services, including progression of treatment throughout the course of care, and revision of treatment interventions of goals not met. Supervises and directs certified athletic trainers (PT only), physical therapist / occupational therapist assistants, technicians, volunteers and students. Selects and follows correct protocol for care, as established, and actively seeks out, utilize and mentors/teaches others on current evidence-based treatment strategies. May consult with team members to offer suggestions for treatment strategies. May serve as a clinical content expert for practice area, initiates consultation with team members for advanced treatment of patients, develop forum for staff members to utilize clinical expertise.
• Physical/Occupational Therapist Patient Education (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in communicating functional impact of assessment findings, treatment interventions, treatment planning, diagnosis, and disease process. Able to adapt communication to the needs/level of understanding of the audience and share appropriate information/literature. May supervise, educate, and train students from professional programs of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training and/or students and staff from other departments. Contributes in the development of patient education best practices for the organization.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities:

Supporting Colleagues:
- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance and gain knowledge in new areas.
- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.
- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences.

Delivering Excellent Services:
- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.
- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.
- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.

Ensuring High Quality:
- Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.
- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them.
- Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring.

Managing Resources Effectively:
- Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.
- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.
- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities.

Fostering Innovation:
- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.
- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.
- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

LIC-Occupational Therapy License - Licensure-Others

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

1 year

Education:

Bachelor's

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.